March 1st, 2013 SnowOnline

Check out what’s new in this week’s SnowOnline.

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The DogTooth Dash? It’s Happening at Kicking Horse

Ski touring races have been growing in popularity at Kicking Horse Resort in BC, and beyond. The ski area’s wild mountain terrain is ideal to host what’s called the Dogtooth Dash… a ski, skin and hike expedition race March 16-17, 2013.

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Racers will climb and ski vertical up to 4300 feet through three bowls, three ridges and two major peaks. The race is designated as the North American Championships.

Moving with the momentum of last year’s unique event, the 2013 race will embody similar course elements. Ian Gale has designed and created one of the most challenging and scenic races. The event will be sanctioned by the Alpine Club of Canada & the US Ski Mountaineering Association and will follow the IFSM ski touring race rules and regulations.

The award-winning Eagle’s Eye Restaurant at Kicking Horse, will be the focal point for the event, with a clover leaf course that will have athletes, starting, finishing and looping through the top of the mountain during the race.

Course Details

Ski, skin, hike layout spread out over Kicking Horse terrain

Total vertical climb 4300 ft, Total ski vertical 4300

Course utilizes 3 major bowls, 3 ridges and 2 peaks

Run in partnership with the Ski Mountaineering Competition of Canada / Alpine Club of Canada & the US Ski Mountaineering Association

Whistler’s Momentum Ski Camps, in partnership with the Sarah Burke Foundation, is launching the 2nd annual ‘Spirit of Sarah Scholarship’. The training scholarship was set up to honour the memory of freestyle skier and long time Momentum camper and coach Sarah Burke, who passed away last year in a tragic accident.

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Camp Director John Smart says, “One of the causes dear to Sarah’s heart was encouraging young girls to follow their dreams and believe in their skiing abilities. Sarah played a big part in getting our ‘Girls Ski Week’ off the ground and inspired so many young women through her incredible skiing talent, but more importantly through her demonstration of modesty, kindness and her wonderfully positive approach to life.”

One lucky woman will win a Free Full Package week, worth more than $2300, to train at Momentum Camps in Whistler, BC this summer, under the mentorship of some of the top freestyle skiers in the world. Applicants have been asked to submit a 3-5 minute video presentation to plead their case. The judging panel will be looking for a worthy candidate who best embodies Sarah’s very special strengths and characteristics. Candidates can make submissions to [email protected] until April 15th. Full details http://momentumcamps.com/m/spirit-of-sarah-scholarship/).

Last year 16 year old Emma Stevens from Nova Scotia was the inaugural winner and enjoyed an inspiring week of training at Momentum’s special ‘Girls Week’ in July. When asked recently how the scholarship has impacted her season she says:

“The additional summer training it gave me provided me with a good head start and helped me ease into this year’s season a lot smoother. It isn’t so much the training though, that has helped me the most. Meeting all the pro skiers and hearing their own success stories directly from them really helped me see where I want to go, and it gave me that extra push to want to strive for greatness.”

“Being at Momentum was the first time that I was actually able to be around a big group of female freestyle skiers and that was also really awesome and showed me how big Sarah’s spirit was. Before Momentum I knew that there were a lot more girls out there other than me, but living in Nova Scotia sheltered me to only myself and at most 8-10 other girls. So being around 40+ girls all at once was a really big eye opening experience. I think the experience I got has given me that extra push I needed to succeed.”

The Sarah Burke Foundation is also offering two separate $7500 cash scholarships. Deadlines for submissions are March 1st. Full details www.sarahburkefoundation.com

Photo of the late Sarah Burke courtesy of the Sarah Burke Foundation

SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles

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Discounts: Ski, Tube & Skate Saturdays at Apex

Over spring break, if you’re looking to keep the kids busy all day, you can do it with Big Ticket Saturdays at BC’s Apex Resort.

All Day Skiing, All Day Tubing, All Day Skating, and Night Skiing for are on sale for an extra $10 with the purchase of a regular Day Ticket.

Experience 12 hours of fun from 9am to 9pm… more than $30 in savings

See: www.apexresort.com

Photo courtesy of Apex.

SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles

Sunshine Debuts Grizzly Terrain Park

Alberta’s Sunshine Village has launched its newly designed Grizzly Terrain Park.

With its first opening since the 2010-2011 ski season, The Grizzly Terrain Park opens with one jump line including an uprail, plus a 25- and 40-foot table.

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The Banff resort is reporting the new design was built with a more streamlined feel so you can hit every rail and table on your way down. More lines and features will be added shortly. The terrain park sits alongside Sunshine Village’s existing Rogers and Springhill Terrain parks.

Sunshine Village’s latest addition adds to the exceptional terrain offering at Canada’s Big 3 Resorts. The Lake Louise Ski Area’s Showcase Terrain Park is now fully complete including the snowcross course! Completing the package, Mt. Norquay boasts small to XL jumps, the Acro Airbag and everything in-between. All of Mt. Norquay’s park features are open for both day and night skiing.

For more info: www.SkiBig3.com.

SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles

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Powder Pic: Mount Washington’s Afterdark Invitational

Mount Washington celebrates a decade of the Afterdark Invitational this Saturday night March 2. An invite-only list of skiers and snowboarders will session the massive step-down jump in front of an equally massive and amped crowd. The 2013 rider list is deep and features the return of both 2012 Afterdark Invitational winners. Snowboarder Darcy Sharpe from Comox and skier Cam Smith from the Okanagan will be looking to defend their crowns and take their share of the $3000 purse. The Afterdark Invitational starts at 7:30pm this Saturday, March 2 and is free to all spectators. See www.MountWashington.ca for details.

Photo by Erik Peterson courtesy of Mount Washington.

SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles

Ontario, Ski WIth Canada’s Fastest Men March 17

On March 17, 2013, the fastest ski racers on the planet are coming to Ontario for the Canadian Ski Team Shootout and Masters Fantasy Camp.

This event is open to anyone who wants to come out and race with the fastest men on the Canadian National Ski Team, a.k.a. the Canadian Cowboys.

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There are essentially three events happening:

THE PARTY at Toronto Ski Club on March 16 – $60

The Masters Fantasy Camp at Osler on March 17 – $500

The SHOOTOUT race event for kids 10 – 18 at Osler on March 17 – $200

Not only is this a great chance for skiers young and “master” to meet and ski with the fastest racers on the planet–including Erik Guay and Jan Hudec– there will be some very cool unveilings with Audi and Spyder for the upcoming 2014 Olympic season. It’s going to be a fantastic event, great value, and of course inject some funds into our national ski team as they charge towards Sochi in 2014.

TAX RECEIPTS WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE EVENT

For more information: www.alpinecanada.org

Photo and illustration courtesy of Alpine Canada.

SnowOnline Editor: Lori Knowles

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Canada Tops Hardware Haul at Para-Alpine World Championships

The Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team is bringing home more hardware from the International Paralympic Committee Alpine World Skiing Championships than any other nation after topping the standings with 14 medals.

Canada won one gold, five silver, and eight bronze medals at the 10-day world championship in La Molina, Spain, which wrapped up Wednesday after 120 athletes from 28 countries competed in 30 medal events.

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The impressive medal haul gave Canada two more medals than France, which finished with 12. France tops the overall points medal rankings after winning seven gold medals, while Canada ranked eighth overall.

The highlight of the week for the Canadian team was a stellar performance by veteran visually impaired skier Chris Williamson, who was crowned world champion in super-combined on Monday. The Toronto, Ont., racer and his guide, Robin Fémy of Mont Tremblant, Que., proudly belted out the Canadian anthem from the top step on the podium as their teammates cheered on.

“It was an extremely proud moment for me,” Williamson said. “Overall I’m quite pleased with the way I skied. I’m leaving with one world championship title, which is nothing to sneeze about. I’m really proud with how the whole team has done – having the most hardware to take home out of all the countries is not something to be shy about. I think it’s something to be proud of and is something to build towards next year in Sochi.”

In total, Williamson won four medals in five events. Sit-skier Kimberly Joines, from Rossland, B.C., also took home four medals. Viviane Forest ofEdmonton, Alta., a visually impaired skier who races with guide Chloé Lauzon-Gauthier of Joliette, Que., made a strong comeback after four years away from world championship racing by winning bronze and silver in slalom and giant slalom.

The less experienced members of the Canadian team didn’t disappoint either: 18-year-old standing skier, Alexandra Starker of Calgary, Alta., won three bronze medals, and 15-year-old visually impaired skier, Mac Marcoux of Sault Ste-Marie, Ont., claimed silver in giant slalom. Mac races with brother and guide, 18-year-old Billy Joe. Both Starker and the Marcoux brothers were making their world championship debuts.

“It’s always awesome to see the veterans on the podium, but it’s just as exciting to see some of our young racers who have come up through our prospect program having success at the international level here,” said Brianne Law, athletic director of the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team.

“We had a lot of trust in our preparation coming into world champs. We stuck to our plan and came here ready to race. Everything was about skiing fast and ultimately the guys laid it out on the line every day and were really successful, so I would say we achieved our goals and more.

“We went into this looking for eight medals and came out with 14, so we couldn’t really ask for much more.”

The performances of the racers who didn’t reach the podium were also hopeful, Law added.

“Especially these last three days, the team was so hungry for success. Every single team member was chomping at the bit and going out of the gate charging. It turned out more successful for some than others, but even for those who didn’t finish some of their races, in time that (approach) will pay off.”

The para-alpine world championships in La Molina wrapped up on Wednesday with a non-medal team event, where the two Canadian teams entered placed sixth and seventh. Racers competed in a ski-cross style event with banked giant slalom turns, which was a treat for fans to watch, Law said. Forest and sit-skier Caleb Brousseau of Terrace, B.C., posted the fastest times of the day in their respective categories.

The team will now enjoy a few days off before travelling to Sochi, Russia, to compete in the IPC World Cup finals. The Sochi races are a chance for the team to test out the hill that will host the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Games.